Otto Hofmann: Bauhaus Artist's Journey from Nazi Germany to Italy in Lucca Exhibition
In Lucca, the Fondazione Centro Studi sull'Arte Licia e Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti is showcasing a retrospective dedicated to Otto Hofmann (1907–1996), a German artist whose journey encompassed the Bauhaus, persecution under the Nazis, and a reinvention after the war. Hofmann, born in Essen, began his studies at Stuttgart Polytechnic and became part of the Bauhaus in 1927. His initial abstract works incorporated archetypal symbols and gained recognition in various museum collections by the early 1930s. A member of the Communist Party, he escaped to Switzerland in 1933 amid Nazi threats. After WWII, he moved to Rudolstadt in 1946, later relocating to West Berlin. In 1976, he settled in Pompeiana, Italy, where he continued to innovate in art. The exhibition features documents that provide context for his career.
Key facts
- Otto Hofmann was born in Essen in 1907 and died in Pompeiana in 1996.
- He studied at the Bauhaus in Dessau from 1927, learning from Schlemmer, Albers, Klee, and Kandinsky.
- His early abstract style used archetypal symbols: ladder, sphere, cloud, cross, star.
- In 1933, after Nazi aggression, he fled to Switzerland and met Jean Arp.
- He was banned from painting by the Nazis and worked with ceramist Otto Lindig.
- During WWII, he served in France, Greece, and the Soviet Union, creating art on letter paper.
- After the war, he lived in Rudolstadt then fled to West Berlin, losing most of his works.
- He moved to Pompeiana, Italy, in 1976, inspired by the Ligurian light.
- The exhibition at Fondazione Ragghianti in Lucca includes documents and works from all periods.
Entities
Artists
- Otto Hofmann
- Oskar Schlemmer
- Josef Albers
- Paul Klee
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Jean Arp
- Jean Mirò
- Marc Chagall
- Hans Hartung
- Claude Monet
- Otto Lindig
- Niccolò Lucarelli
Institutions
- Fondazione Centro Studi sull'Arte Licia e Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti
- Bauhaus
- Stuttgart Polytechnic
- Jena Kunstverein
- Das Volk
- Artribune
Locations
- Essen
- Germany
- Dessau
- Stuttgart
- Jena
- Switzerland
- Zurich
- Hainichen
- France
- Greece
- Soviet Union
- Russia
- Rudolstadt
- Thuringia
- West Berlin
- Berlin
- Paris
- Brussels
- Côte d'Azur
- Italy
- Pompeiana
- Ligurian Riviera
- Bordighera
- Lucca
- Braunschweig
- Hannover
- Erfurt